Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker
Ground Zero: In Your House
Louisville, KY
September 7, 1997
Background:
This is probably one of my favorite feuds of all time. Back in 1997, I wasn't much of a smart fan at all and didn't have internet access. Sure, I knew wrestling was 'fake', but after Shawn Michaels cost the Undertaker the title at Summerslam 1997, I was PISSED and hated Michaels for basically the rest of the year.
Summerslam 1997: Undertaker is defending the WWF Title against Bret Hart, with Shawn Michaels as the referee. If Bret Hart didn't win the title, then he would never wrestle in the US again. If Shawn favored Undertaker in any way, he would never wrestle in the US again. In the closing moments of the match, Bret used a chair behind Shawn's back. When Shawn saw the chair in the ring, he confronted Bret about it. Bret responded back by spitting in his face. Fed up, Shawn swung the chair, but Bret ducked, and it hit Undertaker. Bret covered, and Shawn was forced to count, giving Bret his fifth and final WWF Title.
For weeks, Shawn claimed it was an accident, but on the 8/18 Raw, there was no accident. In the main event, Undertaker & Mankind fought Shawn Michaels and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. When Taker was threatening Shawn's insurance policy, Rick Rude, Shawn came at Taker with an intentional chairshot, bloodying the Deadman. When Taker got to his feet, Shawn hit him a second time, completing his heel turn. This was also the unofficial formation of DX, as it was the first time Michaels & HHH teamed up. The match for Ground Zero between Undertaker and Michaels is their first meeting ever.
The Match:
As soon as Undertaker enters the ring after banging the lights back on, Shawn is ready to piss his pants. Taker is quick to take off his robe and starts walking quickly over to Shawn's who's hiding behind the referee. When the referee gets in Taker's way, Shawn calms down, but when Taker punches the ref out, Shawn jumps out of the ring and tells Vince McMahon that there will be no match. He walks toward the ramp, only to meet Commissioner Slaughter, who orders him back. When he turns back around to the ring, Taker, from inside, throws the ref from before at him. Shawn retreats up the ramp and onto the stage, where Taker proceeds to follow and press slam him. He even throws him into the plants on the In Your House set. Shawn is so afraid that he literally is on his knees knocking at the door on the set for help. Right away, the tone for the match is established: Undertaker is royally pissed and will go to any lengths to kick Shawn's ass, even if it means getting disqualified.
When they return to the ring, the bell sounds to officially start the match, with a new referee. Shawn gets the advantage from behind, but Taker just swats him away after each attempt at offense. At one point, Shawn does manage a neckbreaker, but Taker basically no-sells it and does the deadman sit-up. Shawn panics and gets a chair, which is what started the feud in the first place. Taker blocks a shot with a kick to the face. With Shawn begging for mercy in the corner, Taker prepares to nail him with the same chair, but the referee grabs it and his knocked out by Shawn knocking Taker onto him. Shawn manages to hit a few flying elbows, when his insurance policy, Rick Rude, comes out and tosses him a pair of brass knuckles before leaving. Shawn gets a shot in, while Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna drag another referee out to make the count. It only gets two, so HHH pulls his ref out and beats him down. Shawn, realizing the potential of having HHH and Chyna out there with him, helps the second referee up, only to bash his head into the turnbuckle.
Again, there is no referee, and it basically becomes a 3-on-1 handicap match. Every time Taker is thrown outside, HHH & Chyna double-team him, and he's able to get very little offense in. I would not remiss in mentioning the rowdy, southern-trash women in the front row, who, when Taker is lying against the railing in front of her, gets too involved and yells, "Yeah, in your face!" constantly at Taker. Back inside, Shawn tunes up the band but misses Sweet Chin Music. Taker chokeslams him and knocks HHH off the apron. He grabs the brass knuckles from out of Shawn's tights (which Vince at first thinks is Taker pulling out his belly ring) and KO's him. The referee that was bashed into the turnbuckle by Shawn recovers and counts a slow two count, so Taker responds by chokeslamming him, too. Finally, the man, referee Tim White, runs out and calls it a No Contest, at about 22:00, including the pre-bell fight.
The crowd hates the finish, but the fight continues inside as Shawn and HHH trap Taker in the ropes. Shawn charges with a chair, but Taker kicks it back into his face and fights them both off as more officials try to stop it. HHH gets a tombstone, as all the wrestlers (Legion of Doom, Brian Christopher, Sultan, DOA, The Rock, Savio Vega, Godwinns, Faarooq, Jesse Jammes, Billy Gunn, and more) pile in the ring to separate the Shawn and Taker. Everything seems calm, with about ten wrestlers inside with Taker and ten outside with Shawn and HHH. Suddenly, Taker runs and dives over the top rope for a tope on EVERYONE, including Shawn, who's quick to retreat immediately after getting up. The show goes off the air with Taker in the ring, visibly pissed that he couldn't get the job finished.
Analysis:
It's not a technical masterpiece by any means, but it is one of the best brawls, ever, in the WWF, in my opinion. This match was just a warm-up for their Hell in a Cell at Badd Blood the next month, but it made you believe that these two actually despised each other. This match should be a requirement to watch before you see HIAC. Neither was afraid to risk disqualification, displayed by each constantly attacking the referees. Shawn screwed up at Summerslam, and he would pay the price, not only here, but the next month in HIAC. Sure, the No Contest seems like a lame finish on paper, but it was necessary to keep both strong for a rematch the next month. The tope by Taker to the outside after the final bell was amazing. I remember watching live on PPV and marking out like crazy. Shawn came out of this match looking like a heel that was terrified but could hang on with a little help from others. Taker came out looking like a bad ass that shouldn't be messed with. Bottom line, this is still one of my favorite matches of all time, as I loved every second of Taker-HBK feud. I give the match ****1/2 for the intensity and action that the match displayed. With all the referee bumps, interference, and lack of rules, the next step would be Hell in a Cell, in which the two would settle their differences... until January. It seems that many people tend to forget about this match and remember HIAC instead. Personally, I like this match on just about the same level as HIAC. I would recommend this match to anyone.
